Peacekeeping challenged

Virtual special issue of the RUSI Journal

Illustration © Pexels. Jens Mahnke. copyright license

Maintaining and restoring peace and security in fragile states remains a major global challenge. The RUSI Journal has put together a virtual special issue of recent articles, presenting the latest research on peacekeeping, peacebuilding and community security.

Of the issue’s ten articles, the RUSI Journal has selected three that DIIS researchers have been involved in writing in 2015, 2016 and 2017.

The first deals with Sierra Leone’s road from being a war-torn country to becoming a contributor to peacekeeping missions in Darfur and Somalia. It argues that the search for a post-conflict identity for its military has been crucial in driving the process forward.

The second explores how national interests of Ethiopia and Kenya, in particular, have shaped the African Union’s mission in Somalia.

The third article shows some of the reasons why tension arises between African and European forces in the United Nations mission in Mali. These tensions come to bear in practice and shape the distribution of task, danger and ultimately death.

Combined, the three papers provide insight into the many challenges that both the United Nations and African Union face as they prepare for and deploy large-scale peacekeeping missions.

They are based on extensive fieldwork in Sierra Leone, Somalia and Mali, respectively, between 2005 and 2016.